NBA Insider Makes Positive Joel Embiid Prediction for 76ers vs Bucks

An NBA Insider believes Joel Embiid will take the court for 76ers vs Bucks on Wednesday.

Sep 30, 2024; Camden, NJ, USA; Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid (21) poses for a photo on media day at the Philadelphia 76ers Training Complex. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images / Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

The Philadelphia 76ers are faced with a question that’s quite familiar heading into their season opener against the Milwaukee Bucks: Will Joel Embiid get the nod to play?

The All-Star center hasn’t spoken publicly since the team held training camp in the Bahamas. At that point, Embiid was not a participant in scrimmage action.

When the head coach, Nick Nurse, is asked about the center’s status, he claims it’s unknown at this time.

Jul 10, 2024; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; USA forward Joel Embiid (11) and forward Anthony Davis (14) laugh together on the bench during the fourth quarter against Canada in the USA Basketball Showcase at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Candice Ward-Imagn Images / Candice Ward-Imagn Images

ESPN NBA Insider Tim Bontemps guesses Embiid’s string of absences during the preseason is simply all part of the master plan to manage Embiid’s health throughout the 2024-2025 NBA season.

On the latest episode of the Hoop Collective, Bontemps reported that Embiid is “not hurt” while making the assumption that the one-time MVP will play on Wednesday against the Milwaukee Bucks.

“Like last year, he played one preseason game at the end of the preseason and did basically the same thing, but other than that, like just ramping up for the start of the year, getting ready to go. Like I said, he looks great from a body standpoint, lost a bunch of weight. Everything I’ve heard, it seems like when he’s been on the court it’s looked good.” via LibertyBallers.

The Sixers have been cautious with Embiid in the past, but this year there’s a different mentality from the center himself. As bad as he wants to play every game, another surgery for the center last year was enough to change his mind about how he should approach injury management.

At this stage, Embiid missed all of the Sixers’ training camp scrimmages and six preseason games. He hasn’t been ruled out against the Bucks, and if Bontemps guesses right, the star center could be on the floor Wednesday night to compete for the first time since Team USA’s gold medal game against France back in July.